Satsuki: Child Saved
by cleareyes25
Summary: Uchiha Mikoto had secrets too. Her biggest? Uchiha Satsuki, her daughter. sasusaku, naruhina, itaoc later
1. Chapter 1

"Mamo!" Satsuki reached out her hand to catch the katana that her adopted sister tossed her. She whirled around and slid it through the rib cage of a shinobi. The fallen man morphed into a white being and then proceeded to turn into a tree. The clearing they were fighting in was already merging into the forest surrounding it.

After Naruto had joined the war the identification process of the white Zetsus became a lot easier. The Intelligence Division sent out location reports to any available shinobi whenever Naruto came across an imposter on his quest to find Madara and Sasuke.

Satsuki sighed as she looked around the clearing. It was filled with trees. Only she and Mamori were left standing. Satsuki plopped down on the ground and looked through the leaves of a tree at the blue sky. The sun cast dancing shadows as the wind rustled the tree branches.

"Why are we doing this again instead of exploring exotic places or even just drinking tea in some café?" Satsuki exclaimed. She turned her head slightly and peered up at Mamori. Her blank face gave away no signs of the battle that had just taken place. Satsuki, however, had known the young woman her whole life and could see the faint exhaustion in her golden eyes. She brushed away a stray green strand of hair and sheathed her twin blades.

"No place would be peaceful with this war going on. Besides, wasn't it you who wanted to join the Shinobi Alliance in the first place?" Mamori gave Satsuki a slight glare as she hauled her to her feet.

Satsuki felt a rush of sheepishness flow through her as she gave a slightly nervous laugh. "Oh yeah." She picked up the katana from the ground and cleaned it before handing it back over to Mamori. She looked around and felt a surge of renewed energy go through her as she remembered why she was here in the first place.

Satsuki was a bright girl. Her black hair and eyes did nothing to dim the happiness that natural expelled from the young girl. She was always getting in trouble because of her naïve attitude and Mamori never missed a chance to remind her of her idiocy. Despite the insults, however, Satsuki would always just laugh and go on with her life at the sight on the slight smirk on her sister's face.

Mamori and Satsuki weren't blood sisters but they probably had a bond stronger than any. Satsuki's mother had left her with Mamori's family when she was just a day old. Satsuki never felt bitter about it though. When she was five and crying in her room Mamori had come in to comfort her. She had told her a story of a desperate mother.

_"Why didn't you return to your village when you found out you were pregnant?" Mamori's mother, Kaida, asked._

_"It's just a diplomatic mission and besides that I..." Mikoto sighed and looked down at her baby girl. Mamori drifted closer and looked at the baby as well. She smiled when the baby gave a little yawn. _

_"My clan is corrupt." The words echoed in the room as a small chill settled in the women's souls. "They are planning a rebellion, an overthrow that will only bring war, pain, and death. I don't want her to be a part of that. My sons... It's already too late for my sons. My eldest, my brave little Itachi, is showing signs of brilliance and I know my husband plans on using him for this coup of his. He's not evil, just, misdirected. He believes the only way for redemption to the clan name is power. He doesn't want to start a war but I fear it is the only outcome." Tears slid down from Mikoto's eyes._

_Kaida, sighed, "How old are your sons." Mikoto looked up and gave a small little smile, "Itachi is only a year older than your Mamori and Sasuke is a year and half old."_

_"What should this little one's name be?" Kaida asked gently._

_"Satsuki"_

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Mamori and Satsuki walked into the medical camp of the Alliance. Shinobi were milling around transporting the injured and medicinal supplies. Satsuki spotted someone she recognized and felt a mischievous grin spread across her face. Mamori gave her sideways glance before shifting away from her slightly.

"Oi! Sai-kun, what's up?" Satsuki skipped up to the former Root member. He looked at her a little confused as he glanced at the sun. He then gave a small smile and said slowly, "Why, there are a few clouds and the sun in the sky Idiot-chan."

Satsuki sweat-dropped and then struggled not to pound the young man into the ground. She took in a deep breath and schooled her features. _He doesn't mean it. He's just confused. Yes, he is a confused moron who will eventually see what a genius you are and beg for your forgiveness as he kisses your feet. _An evil grin flashed across her face before she quickly replaced it with a pout.

"Mou~! Is that how you greet a friend who was just out fighting for her life? Weren't you worried about me? You didn't even say hi!" She looked away towards the ground to give the impression of sadness and depression. She spared a glance at his face to see a conflicted expression on his face.

"I am sorry Satsuki-san. What can I do to make you forgive me?" He asked, genuinely curious. That poor, poor fool. That sucker. Satsuki could feel the thrill of a plan falling into place as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"You could give me a hug." She suggested innocently. Sai stepped closer to her awkwardly and allowed her to wrap her arms around him. He felt so awkward that he didn't even notice when she swiped the picture he was currently working on from his pouch.

Satsuki stepped back and grinned brightly at him. "See? That wasn't so bad now was it?" Sai gave a hesitant nod in agreement and watched in confusion as the girl skipped away. His mind flashed to an image of a pink haired kunoichi who enjoys beating up her teammate and an easily angered hokage before coming to the conclusion that women were crazy and not meant to be understood.

Satsuki giggled as she slipped the picture out of her long sleeves and looked at it. It was a sketch of a medical nin healing a cut on a shinobi's arm. The detail was amazing but it was not finished. She agreed that she would give the picture back if he promised she could see the finished result. She put it in the pack on her back gently before looking through the tents for a familiar pink head.

She stifled a laugh as she saw the pink head resting on a scroll. A trail of drool was trailing from the girl's mouth and her eyes were closed. The wrinkles that seemed to frequent her forehead and scrunch her brow lately were gone. She looked so peaceful that Satsuki felt a little guilty at having to ruin the moment. She walked up to the girl and gently shook her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan. Wakey, wakey." Satsuki jumped back in time to avoid getting hit as Sakura's head shot up.

"I'm up! I wasn't sleeping." The girl looked a little flustered as she looked around the tent. Her eyes landed on Satsuki and they cleared. A technical look glinted in them as they scanned the young girl before her for injuries. She sighed and reclined in her chair when she was satisfied that the young girl was unharmed.

"Hey Satsuki, how'd the patrol go?" Satsuki laid down on a cot in the corner of the tent and felt drowsiness set in.

"It was fine. Mamori and I had to fight off a group of Zetsus. Besides that it was a little boring." She could feel her eyes getting heavy. It was difficult to open them with every blink. She faintly heard Sakura get up and tell her to get some rest before leaving the tent.

The tent felt warm. The dispersed light of the sun through the tarp gave it a slightly homey feel to it. Satsuki listened to the bustle outside as she closed her eyes. She drifted off shortly after that.

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When Satsuki woke up it was to yelling. The bustle outside had turned into commotion and slight panic. She burst through the flaps of the tent to see a bloody Naruto walk into the camp carrying an equally beat up Sasuke. Beside them was Itachi. He blended into the shadows and Satsuki almost missed him until he stepped forward and caught the boy before he fell to the floor unconscious.

A circle of shinobi crowded the strange group before a pissed Sakura yelled at them to get their butts in gear. Medics rushed forward and immediately started on the blond hero. Sasuke was lying on his back a little distance away. Sakura was the only one to approach him.

There was a slight tremor and all action stopped. Tsunade walked forward from where she had stood in the doorway of her tent. Satsuki shrunk back into the shadows hoping to remain unseen. She wasn't quick enough as Tsunade's eyes caught her and held her frozen. They gestured to the group on the ground before moving on. The message was clear, however.

As Satsuki slumped forward she felt a presence at her side and turned to look at Mamori. The young woman's gaze was fixed on Itachi. It was understandable. The ex-Akatsuki member was definitely handsome, to put it lightly. Satsuki knew that wasn't the reason though. She felt strength as her sister stood next to her. It reminded her that her problems were menial and that she had people to rely on.

"He's still not bound to this world." Mamori's soft voice cut through the quiet and all med-nin returned to their work as Tsunade glanced at the young woman.

"Do you think you can change that?" Mamori smirked.

"With the right sacrifice. I have just the person in mind." Satsuki shivered slightly at the dangerous aura that had seeped around her sister.

Mamori was a unique case. Most shinobi summons were animals. Mamori, however, had always strived to be her own person and had sought after a contract that would be unique to her and her alone. A contract that was extremely powerful yet just as dangerous if one wasn't careful. Mamori had made a deal with the Lord of the Dead.

Tsunade grunted and turned to Itachi purposely keeping her gaze from resting on the younger Uchiha boy. She motioned for him to follow her and walked back to her tent. Mamori followed them. Satsuki padded quietly up to Sakura. The grass felt cool on her knees as she knelt down. The boy was pale. He had a large gash across his abdomen and his right hand looked slightly bent in an unnatural way.

"Will he be okay?" She asked quietly. Sakura's jaw clenched. Her hands lost their glow and clenched into fists. She looked up into Satsuki's eyes. Satsuki felt an ache in her chest at the pain she saw there and worried filled her entire frame. It was all frozen at the next words.

"Yes."

Sakura's voice had cracked. Her hands had unclenched and tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned away and placed her glowing hands on the boy's injury. She was silent. Satsuki felt as though a piece of her soul had been torn away. What was going on? Wasn't she happy?

The young girl knew that her friend still loved the boy. In the few weeks that the war had ravaged the two had become fast friends starting when Satsuki had tripped and hit a rock on her way down. Sakura had seen it all and came to her aide scolding her to be more careful as she checked for a concussion. No one besides Tsunade, Kakashi, and Mamori knew of Satsuki's identity and the girl was pleasantly surprised to find someone who used to know her brother. It soon turned to shock and happiness when she found that someone still loved him after all he had done.

Satsuki had joined the Alliance to find out more about her brother and family. She was disheartened when she found out the role her brother was playing in the murder of good people. When she found Sakura she found a new vein of hope. She was introduced to others, the rest of the former Rookie Nine as well as Sai, Yamato-taichou, and Team Gai.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Sakura ignored her and Satsuki sighed as she stood up and crept towards the tent her sister was in. She stood outside of the door, hiding in the shadows that the night provided.

"Itachi, you will lead a team to the location of Kabuto. Mamori-san here will be joining you as well as Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba. The mission is to kill him. Mamori will give you and the team more details on the way to your destination. Dismissed!"

Itachi exited the tent first and headed to his brother. He barely gave Satsuki a glance as he passed her. She met his eyes before turning away and was confronted with Mamori. The young woman looked down at her with a blank face her eyes questioning. Satsuki sighed and shook her head before giving a slight smile. She gave her sister a hug and whispered a good luck.


	2. Chapter 2

The office was quiet. Satsuki squirmed under the fierce gaze of the Hokage. The war was over. It had turned out that Sasuke had joined Naruto to kill Madara. No one knew why the change of heart though and suspicion still lingered in everyone's eyes when he would walk by. Itachi and Mamori's mission was a success. After bringing Kabuto to the brink of death and binding him Mamori had summoned Shinigami and made a deal. Kabuto's soul and whatever was left of Orochimaru's that was dwelling within the psychopath for Itachi's. Satsuki could see the weariness in Itachi's eyes when he glanced at Mamori. It was a little disconcerting knowing that a person had such power over life and death like that. Satsuki knew Mamori, though, as well as the circumstances of the contract and was not worried.

"I called you here to find out what your plans are. You are not a shinobi of Konoha but now that your… brothers are back I doubt you will want to leave." Tsunade's voice held an edge of authority in it and Satsuki glanced around the room nervously.

Outside the window she could see birds swooping in the air and she felt desperate to join them and escape the current situation. Truth be told she wasn't sure what she was going to do. Before the war she and Mamori were travelling, exploring the world and learning new techniques and skills. Satsuki had learned the art of thievery and becoming nearly invisible fairly easily, much to the disapproval of Mamori. Tsunade was right that she didn't want to leave though.

She hadn't talked to her brothers at all since their return. The only times she had seen them was in passing. The closest she had gotten to either one of them was that night when they had first come back. She felt awkward around them. They had been living their lives connected to each other and without knowledge of her existence. She felt that it wouldn't make a difference to them if they found out she was their sister or not. They had survived so far without her. She felt like an outsider.

Satsuki stood quietly, thinking through what she should say. "I wish to stay but… I want to stay with Mamori. I don't want them to know of my existence."

"When do you plan on telling them?" Tsunade asked but she had a feeling she knew what the answer was.

"Never."

The room grew still. Satsuki had a look of despair. She covered it as much as she could but it was hard not to see it lingering on her face. Tsunade looked down at the papers on her desk and straightened them. They were the files from Mamori and Satsuki's previous village. She sighed.

"Mamori you may come in now." Satsuki looked a little ruffled and examined Mamori's face as she entered the room. There was no indication that she had overheard the conversation though.

"This offer is not given often or lightly. Your contributions to the war, however, and your background," she gave a pointed look at Satsuki, "have proven valuable. Would you like to become shinobi of Konoha?"

The two girls didn't need to discuss with each other their decision and didn't hesitate when they accepted the proposal. Tsunade handed them their hitai-ate. Mamori placed hers around her neck and Satsuki wrapped hers around her forehead. They saluted Tsunade and then left when dismissed.

"I'll see you at the apartment. I'm going to go visit Sakura-chan!" Satsuki yelled before sprinting towards the hospital. She heard Mamori's sigh of exasperation and grinned. She was a shinobi of Konoha!

She ran into the hospital. "Where's Sakura?" The desk clerk gave her the room number and shook her head used to the crazy girl and not bothering to scold her for running in a hospital. Satsuki's grin widened as she burst into the room before disappearing.

Sakura didn't even bother turning around to look at her as she continued filling out the form on her clipboard. Sasuke was sitting on the examining table with his shirt off and Itachi was sitting in a chair off to the side. Her look of shock was quickly replaced with a mischievous smirk as Satsuki tried to hide her nervousness.

"My, my Sakura-chan you sure work fast." Satsuki said slyly. Sakura's hand froze, pen still pressed against the paper. Satsuki could see her face turning red beneath the curtain of hair and she stepped closer to the door in case she needed a quick escape. Sasuke gave her a hard glare but Itachi just looked at the wall with a bored look.

"Satsuki, could you please refrain from running in the hospital and interrupting m-!" Sakura's yell was caught in her throat at the sight of the forehead protector shining on the young girl's forehead. She beamed and crushed Satsuki in a hug, literally.

"Aaa! C-Can't….. breathe!" Satsuki struggled out. Sakura released her with a laugh before patting her on the head like a dog.

"You deserved it." Satsuki pouted. There was a soft cough and everyone in the room turned to Itachi.

"If that is all, Sakura-san?" Sakura's smile faltered but kept up. She gave a nod and Sasuke put his shirt on before following his brother out of the room. Satsuki's throat closed at the sight of them together. She tore her eyes away from them and turned back to Sakura.

The young woman was sitting in a chair. Her eyes were cast down at her clenched hands. They were trembling slightly as they clasped each other. Satsuki's concern for her role in her brothers' lives was replaced with concern for her friend.

"You never answered my question." She stated quietly. Sakura looked up at her confused. "Back when they first came back…" Satsuki left the rest of the sentence hanging as Sakura's eyes once again turned downward.

She sat down in the chair next to Sakura. "You know, you are my first friend, besides Mamori of course." Sakura continued looking down at her hands. Satsuki sighed and kneeled down in front of her. She looked up into her green eyes and saw tears welling up in them.

"Things will get better. People change…."

"That's the problem!" Satsuki jerked back slightly in surprise at the fire in Sakura's eyes. "He has changed! He no longer cares about us! He wouldn't fight to protect us or go to ramen just to humor Naruto or scowl when Kakashi is three hours late! I wish time had stopped back when we were Team Seven. Before the war and all of the deaths… He's not the same." She said the last sentence quietly.

Satsuki stood up and stomped her foot, crossing her arms. "Who are you? You must be a Zetsu because the Sakura I knew was full of hope. She was strong and never gave up! She loved her man through thick and thin. Sakura, things change. People change. Yes, they may turn bad but the good thing is that they change. There is always the chance of goodness returning, of happiness taking place. He is in Konoha now. There is no way that he can stay the same now that Itachi's here and you guys are back in his life. He has no choice but to get better." She smirked.

Sakura still looked doubtful but Satsuki could see a little spark in her eyes. It only encouraged her and she forgot all about her previous problems. "You'll see! I'll make you see the light!" Satsuki pulled a Rock Lee pose that left Sakura's eye twitching and then dashed out of the room with maniacal laughter in her wake.

"Great…" Sakura sighed and went back to filling out the Uchihas' physical forms.


	3. Chapter 3

Satsuki was walking through the market place. People shuffled from stall to stall, shoving into each other as they go. She took in a deep breath and could smell the sweet, warm scent of cinnamon bread. She looked for the source and finally came to a stall stocked full of bread. As she browsed the selection she faintly noticed a small child peering over the edge of the table.

The young boy had ratty brown hair, hazel eyes, and a gap in between his two front teeth. His dirty hand reached across the baked goods and grabbed at the largest loaf. He quickly skittered away as the stall man shouted.

"I'll get him!" Satsuki dashed off in the direction the child had run off to. She wandered into an alleyway and tapped her finger to her chin.

"Now, where could he have gone?" Satsuki peeked over a trash bin and snatched the hood of the boy. She lifted the squirming brat into the air and held him away from her. While she tried to calm the boy down something collided with her leg, hard.

Satsuki dropped the boy and he rolled away. He jumped to his feet and held up a pair of fists in front of his face. She looked down and saw a little girl with pig tails wrapped around her legs. She tilted her head to the side.

"What do you want with nii-chan?" Satsuki looked between the two.

"Nii-chan did something bad and has to be punished." The little girl gasped and scrambled to her feet. She put her tiny fists on her hips and glared at the boy. He sighed and shook his head.

"We need to eat Sara." The little girl pouted and picked the loaf up from its place on a blanket. She clutched at it and teetered between her brother and Satsuki. Satsuki sighed.

"How about this, you return the bread _and_ apologize and I'll take you guys out for dinner." The little girl's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. The little boy pouted and slowly lowered his hands.

"Fine."

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"So, you see! No harm, no foul." Satsuki grinned and held out the loaf of bread. The bulky stall owner just grunted. Satsuki's grin faded and she gently set the bread back on the stall. She nudged the boy in the arm and he scowled.

"I'm… sorry." He turned on his heel and walked away. Sara waved to the man and jogged to catch up with her brother. Satsuki followed after them.

"Hey! Food's this way!" The boy froze and then quickly adjusted his course.

"What's your name anyway? Or would you rather me call you Rat?" The boy glared darkly at Satsuki and she laughed.

"Nii-chan's name is Sora." Sara gripped her brother's hand and swung it back and forth. He blushed and looked away slightly. Satsuki looked at the two of them blankly, then…

"Aww! You two are adorable!" She crushed the two of them into a hug.

"Argh!" Sora pulled free and started frantically started brushing himself off.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of cooties!" Satsuki busted up, laughing at his face. She was still laughing when they got to the ramen stand.

"Shut up!" Satsuki immediately stopped laughing. She still had a crazy grin on her face, though. Sara giggled as Satsuki lifted her up onto the stool. She reached towards Sora but he scoffed and scrambled on by himself.

"So how old are you guys anyway?" She asked after they ordered.

"I'm six!" Sara held up seven fingers. Sora reached over and pushed one down.

"Eight." Satsuki opened her mouth to say something when the curtain was pulled aside to reveal Itachi and Mamori.

"N-Nani?" Mamori gave her a blank look that slid over to the children beside her.

"It's illegal to steal people's children, Satsuki." Her face turned red and she turned her head away.

"My name's Sara." Sara looked up at Mamori with a grin. Mamori gave her a nod.

"Mamori." She sat down next to Itachi who slightly shifted away. Satsuki looked at them curiously.

"Are you two on a date?" Mamori choked on her noodles. As she coughed Itachi glared at Satsuki.

"The Hokage has ordered us to get acquainted seeing as how we will be on an ANBU team together." He turned back to his noodles. Mamori had finally gotten her breath back but was sporting a deep red blush. Itachi glanced at her before turning back to his noodles with a smirk.

"Oh… Well, see ya! Have fun on your date, guys!" Satsuki ducked out before getting hit by some chopsticks. She turned back to Sora and Sara.

"It's getting a little late. Where do you guys live?" Sora grabbed Sara's hand and sped up.

"We can get home by ourselves. Thanks for the meal." He disappeared into the crowd dragging a waving Sara behind him. Satsuki shrugged and rushed off to the hospital.

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"Where is she?" The desk clerk rubbed the bridge of her nose with an irritated sigh.

"M'ame, her shift is over. Please leave if you don't have an appointment or are not mortally injured. You're disturbing the patients." Satsuki scowled and stalked to the door. She whirled around and put two fingers to her eyes before pointing them at the desk clerk. She repeated the action once more before storming out the doors.

Sakura's apartment was just down the road from the hospital and perfect for a single med-nin, according to Sakura. She lived on the second floor and Satsuki skipped every other step before banging on her door. She tapped her foot impatiently before bursting in after five minutes. She knew Sakura was home, she could sense her chakra.

She looked around the apartment and sighed. Sakura really needed to decorate. The apartment looked barely lived in, which it was. Sakura was always either at the hospital, Hokage's office or on a mission. The living room was to her left; filled with only a mocha brown sofa, matching glass-topped coffee table and end tables with lamps. The kitchen was to the right; there were no dishes in the sink but half full cups of Instant Ramen cluttered the counter.

"Naruto, get out!" Satsuki rolled her eyes and walked down the hallway in front of her.

"I'm not that mor…" Satsuki jolted to a stop in the bedroom doorway. Sakura sat up in her bed and turned her face away. She brought her hands up to her face.

Satsuki stumbled hesitantly into the room. "Wha…?" Sakura turned around with a watery smile and got out of bed.

"Oh! Hey, Satsuki-chan! If I had known it was you I would have answered the door. Would you like some tea?" Sakura brushed by Satsuki and hustled down the hallway. Satsuki quickly followed after her but once again paused at the kitchen doorway.

Sakura was busying herself with getting the pot and some cups out of the cupboards. She went to the sink and started filling the pot. Everything was silent except for the sound of rushing water. Satsuki shuffled from foot to foot before walking over to the table. Sakura stayed by the stove watching the pot as it began to heat up.

"What just happened?" Satsuki asked quietly.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Sakura's back was still turned to Satsuki. Her voice was cheerful.

Satsuki's brow furrowed and she glared at the table. She shoved back her chair and stomped over to Sakura. She grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face her, "You know what I'm-".

Sakura's eyes were squeezed shut and fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. Satsuki's hand softened on her shoulder before dropping away all together. Sakura broke down. She brought her hands to her face and turned back to the stove.

"I… d-don't know… wha-what you're… talking about." Satsuki sighed. She reached across to turn off the stove and gently guided Sakura to the sofa.

"You were crying in your room, all by yourself. The moment I walked in you were all happy happy smiles again. Why? Don't even try and tell me everything's fine, either! You were sobbing just five seconds ago!"

Satsuki settled down next to her on the couch. Sakura had finally calmed down, kind of. Tears were still flowing but there were no more sobs. She was looking down at her clenched hands. The scene reminded her of when she had visited the hospital a few days ago. Right after Sasuke's physical.

"This is about him." It wasn't a question. Sakura's hands tightened and the tears fell faster.

"I was walking home. It's such a short walk. It never should have happened; I mean I would have been home in a minute. It's so stupid!" her eyes glinted as she jerked her head up. After her little outburst, though, Sakura's face crumpled and she looked back down.

"Sakura, what happened?" Sakura gave a humorless chuckle.

"I saw him. That was it. We walked right by each other. It was so normal. He walked right by me; like I was just some other passerby. He didn't even glance my way or… anything…" Sakura closed her eyes and leaned back against the couch. Satsuki looked down. She clenched her hands and then jumped out of her seat. She grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her to the door, ignoring her protests.

"We need to get out. Moping around here is just going to put salt on the wound. Let's have some fun!" Sakura looked bewildered as Satsuki continued to drag her to a club.

"B-But, I'm not dressed for it and you're too young!" Sakura tugged at her hand but Satsuki had an iron grip on it. Satsuki looked back at Sakura with an incredulous look.

"Girlie, you're beautiful enough without some superficial cloth marring your personality. Also, what the managers don't know won't hurt them." She gave Sakura a wink and strode through the door into the pulsing room.

The normal lights were down and the strobe lights were spinning. A DJ was at the front of the room, headphones pressed to his ears, and the bar was in the back. People were crowded on the dance floor, not even really dancing just bouncing around, swaying, and grinding to the music. Sakura rubbed her arm nervously.

"Hey! Guys! Over here!" A blond head bobbed from the line of bar stools and soon the duo was joined by Ino.

"You look awful. Come on, let's go get a drink!" Ino dragged Sakura to the bar leaving Satsuki with a sweatdrop. Satsuki trailed after them and sat at the bar. The bartender gave the two newcomers a suspicious look which was erased when Ino gave him a wink.

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"And then! And then!..." Sakura bust up laughing and didn't even finish what she was going to say. Ino, for some reason, joined her. Satsuki gave a slight grin, her cheeks dusted with red. Satsuki was mildly tipsy while Ino and Sakura were… obviously shitfaced. Satsuki's gaze lazed around the room and rested on the door where two new people were walking in. One these new people looked as though she was about to set on fire.

"Oh~no~. Guys! Hide me!... It's Mammm..Mamamo.. Mammmori!" Satsuki slipped off of her stool and crouched behind Ino. An arm whipped out and grabbed Satsuki's arm.

"Ow. Ow. Ow." Mamori dragged Satsuki out of the club. Sakura stumbled out behind them giggling.

"What do you think you are doing? You're only 15!" Mamori ground her teeth and tugged at Satsuki's arm.

"Sakura-chan.. hic!... needed a litt-hic-le pick me up!" Satsuki tripped over her feet and Mamori stopped walking in order to steady her.

"Yeah~ Satsuki's a great friend!" Sakura's voice pitched and she went down, dragging Satsuki down with her.

Satsuki looked up and saw a pair of dark eyes looking down on her. Itachi stood there as Mamori struggled to drag the girls up. "Help me!" Mamori growled. Itachi sighed and reached for Satsuki. However, the moment his hand got close she flinched and he pulled away. Satsuki sobered up and wobbled to her feet, no sign of a smile anywhere.

"I'm good. Come on, Sakura-chan. Let's get you home." Sakura looked between the two Uchihas with confusion but allowed herself to be dragged away.

Mamori's gaze followed after the two before she turned in the direction of her apartment. Itachi stood, staring at the ground where Satsuki was, before looking after Mamori. His long stride caught up to her form quickly.

"You don't have to follow me home." Itachi didn't say anything in response and stayed by her side. Mamori sighed and continued on as silence fell between them.

It was cooling off the longer the moon hung in the sky. Mamori took in a breath of the crisp air and closed her eyes briefly. A hand brushed against her arm and her body shifted closer to it. She opened her eyes and noticed a pole in the way. She moved around it but paused as she realized that Itachi had stopped. His arm was lifted slightly and his hand reached a little in front of him. A warmth lingered on her arm and she blushed.

"Come on. It's late." She gave a small smile and turned away from him. His eyes followed the sway of her long, green braid. He closed his eyes, took in a breath, and followed her.


	4. Chapter 4

*knock knock* Satsuki waited a few seconds before sighing and turning away from the door. She knew Sakura wasn't home anyway. This was ridiculous! Sakura hadn't been home for two days straight! Satsuki walked further down the road to the hospital.

"Is Haruno Sakura in?" The desk clerk gave a sigh and nodded.

"Room 320. And Satsuki?" Satsuki looked over her shoulder at the woman. "Tell her to go home." Satsuki gave a mock salute and continued down the hallway.

"Sakura!" Satsuki walked into the room to see Naruto with a broken arm sitting on a cot. "Yeesh, what happened to you?"

Naruto scowled, "That bastard went too far. I only said that he should stop sulking around!" Sakura snorted.

"I was there; you practically called him a gay homophobe! Naruto, he's still temperamental." Naruto gave a huff before grinning shyly. Satsuki rolled her eyes.

"Sakura, the desk clerk told me to tell you to go home." Sakura scoffed.

"I just got here." Satsuki crossed her arms and gave a level stare.

"How long was your break?"

"Maybe half an hour…" Sakura tensed, realizing her mistake.

"Ha! Half an hour out of two days? Sakura, you're going to run yourself into the ground!" Satsuki waved her arms around in the air. Naruto opened his mouth to support Satsuki when they heard a cough at the door. They all turned to the new visitor.

"The Hokage wishes to see us. You too, Satsuki." Kakashi pulled out his book and walked away.

"Let's get going." Sakura hurried out the door after him. Satsuki crossed her arms again with a pout.

"She got away with it…" Naruto laughed and wrapped an arm around Satsuki guiding her to the door. It's a good thing he has the Kyuubi; his other arm had already healed.

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"The children from a village within our borders have gone missing. There haven't been any reports of rogues or bandits in the area so either they are really good or something else entirely is going on. I need you five to investigate what's going on and recover the children." Tsunade had her fingers interlaced in front of her mouth, eyes glinting. The future Will of the Fire was in danger, maybe. Naruto had a sober expression for once.

"Wait, five?" Sakura looked around, confused. A soft knock came from the door.

"Come in!" Tsunade shouted. A girl with big lavender eyes and flowing dark blue hair entered the room.

"S-Sorry I'm late." Her soft voice rang through the air and she quickly gave a bow to Tsunade.

"No problem, I was just giving the details of the mission, which you already have."

Hinata nodded and pulled out a scroll from her pouch. She glanced around the room and her eyes met Naruto's. They both looked away quickly, as if they had been shocked by an electrical charge. The tension in the room magnified. Hinata was looking towards her fiddling fingers and Naruto had his arms behind his head and was looking at a corner of the ceiling. Satsuki looked between the two and then at Sakura. She mouthed "I'll tell you later." Satsuki gave a satisfied nod.

"Meet at the gates in one hour. Dismissed!" The shinobi stood at attention and then left to their respective abodes.

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Satsuki was in her room packing. She paused to look out her window with a sigh. "So, you're leaving?" Satsuki jumped and whirled around. Gold eyes held her own onyx ones. The intensity in them gave Satsuki a heads up of what was to come next.

"It's just a recovery mission, nee-chan." Mamori's expression didn't change. Satsuki blew her side bangs out of her eyes. "Really, I looked at the file. It's probably just a bunch of kids playing a prank on their parents. There are really only 5 missing; it's a very small village. No real value to it." She said nervously.

"You don't know anything about the mission. Who knows what happened. It most likely is a rogue, and a powerful one at that to avoid detection!" Mamori argued. Her eyes glinted and she had yet to uncross her arms.

"… I'll be careful." Mamori sighed and relaxed her arms. She walked into the room and pulled Satsuki into a hug.

"Yes, you will." She held her out at arm's length. "You also won't use that technique. You haven't practiced with it enough. Also, the side effects are dangerous unless you use… that." Satsuki pulled away and turned back to her packing.

"If I need to use… it, I'll use it. The protection of others and fighting with all of your being is part of being a shinobi." She said coldly. She heard Mamori sigh and then nothing. When she chanced a glance over her shoulder she saw that the room was empty.

The technique wasn't quite a technique. More like a genetic mutation. Satsuki shivered as an image of a dank cold room melted into her mind. There was the faint sound of a knife being sharpened coming from the concrete halls. A man's hands were tightening the straps on her wrists.

"Just so you won't hurt yourself, Satsuki-chan. The procedure can have some… nasty effects."

A prick on her arm told her there was a needle. A burning in her veins told of venom. Her mouth open in a silent scream, her arms and legs struggling against the straps, the tears running down her face told of pain. Satsuki gasped and braced her arms on her bed. A cold sweat dampened her brow and her eyes were wide and unseeing. Her chest heaved for breath.

A shudder racked her body and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her breathing calmed and she opened her eyes. She quickly wiped the moisture from her face. She hadn't even noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks.

She finished packing her bag. Satsuki threw the tan bag over her shoulder and looked into the mirror. Her long black hair was in a high ponytail with her side bangs swept across to the left. The black trench coat was thrown over a white tank top and grey khakis. She sighed.

"I need to start putting more color in my wardrobe choices." She brushed off some imaginary dust and headed out. The door gave a gentle click as she closed it behind her.

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Everyone was already at the gates when she got there. Naruto was jumping up and down with excitement urging the rest of them to get going. None of them had really been out of the village since the war. Sakura was looking anxiously down the road into the village as if she was looking for someone. Satsuki noticed this and went over to her friend. Hinata joined the two.

"I don't think he's coming Sakura-chan." Satsuki put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. The girl glanced sideways at Satsuki before returning her gaze to the rode with a look of despair.

"Y-You're right." She muttered softly. Satsuki started to feel guilty. She looked over to Hinata who was looking flustered and urging her silently to do something.

"It's probably not that he doesn't want to! Just that…" Satsuki looked over to Hinata. Hinata perked up and moved in front of Sakura.

"He probably doesn't even know that we're leaving on a mission!" Hinata gave a soft smile. Naruto had stopped jumping around due to Kakashi sitting on him, reading his book as usual.

"We should get going." Sakura muttered. She walked past Naruto and Kakashi and headed down the road leading out of the village. She paused beside a bench and looked down at it. Her fists clenched before relaxing. She looked over her shoulder.

"Well?" The two girls shared a look and then followed Sakura out of the village. Naruto jumped up in an attempt to dump Kakashi on the ground. Kakashi magically appeared a few feet away not on the ground and they both followed the girls out.

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"So what's the deal with Naruto and Hinata? He's never been this quiet." Ever since they had started the journey it had been uncharacteristically silent. Naruto would have his arms behind his head walking a little faster than anyone else. Hinata would glance his way every now and then with a worried expression before looking down sadly.

"You've heard about the Pein attack, right?" Satsuki nodded.

"Yeah, he destroyed the whole village. Naruto was able to defeat him though and bring him back to our side. He died resurrecting all of the people who had died that day, right?" Sakura nodded and gave a sigh.

"Well, Naruto was the only one who could stand a chance against the Six Paths of Pein. However, he almost lost. When he was fighting Pein he was knocked down, both physically and spiritually. Pein was about to give the final blow when Hinata came in. She fought against Pein. No matter how many times he knocked her down she always got back up. She ended up confessing her love for Naruto during that time." Satsuki gasped. All of her attention was focused on the story. "But Hinata wasn't strong enough against Pein and… he killed her, right in front of Naruto. Naruto went berserk after that. But in the end he was able to calm down and defeat Pein. And Hinata came back to us. The good thing about all of this is that she finally stopped her stuttering, well mostly." Sakura stopped talking and continued rolling out her sleeping bag.

"And?" Satsuki prodded Sakura. She looked up confused. "What happened after that? Did he confess? Did he reject her? Are they dating or… something? They're still friends, right?" Sakura sighed and smoothed out her sleeping bag.

"They're still friends. Naruto wouldn't give up a friendship over anything. You've seen how he is." Satsuki gave a nod. "The truth is I don't think they've talked since then. I mean, I know that they fought alongside each other in the war but that was the extent of their contact. You know, now that I mentioned it that isn't healthy. You need to confront your problems not avoid them nervously. The stress is probably killing them!... Why are you looking at me like that?" Satsuki sighed and shook her head.

"So, how are things with Sasuke?" Sakura tensed before a thoughtful expression overtook her face.

"It's weird. I thought that Tsunade-shishou would have put him in jail, but all she did was have him interrogated and put on probation." Satsuki took in a sharp intake of breath. She gave a sharp glare to Naruto who was making a fire. The boy paused in what he was doing as a cold breeze went through him. _I wonder what that was?_

"Sakura I need to tell you something…" Sakura looked over at her curiously. Satsuki took in a deep breath but then paused. She cocked her head to the side.

"Do you hear something?" Hinata all of the sudden sat up straight.

"Everyone get down!" She tackled Naruto to the ground just as a barrage of kunai flew over their heads.

"Leave now! The Demon of the Forest is not pleased with your presence! Leave, before you are punished!" A deep voice echoed from all around them. Naruto jumped up from under Hinata and looked around. He was slightly shaking but his voice was firm.

"Ha! Like we're scared of you! Come out and fight."

"N-Naruto-kun…" Naruto looked down at her. Her Byakugan was activated.

"T-There's no one here." She stated. Just then the trees were pushed by a strong wind current. A howling filled the air before abruptly being cut off. Naruto shivered again before diving under his sleeping bag.

"No one said there would be a ghost!" he shouted. Satsuki's eyes glinted with excitement.

"Awesome!" Naruto peeked out from under his sleeping bag, expression incredulous.

"What? Ghosts are evil! They can creep into your body and do horrible things. They can strip your flesh off without even touching you. And even worse, they can't eat ramen! It's unnatural!" Satsuki gave an evil laugh.

"Duh! That's why they call it supernatural." She laughed again and Naruto ducked under his sleeping bag again. You could see the bag shiver with him.

"It's okay N-Naruto-kun. There prob-probably isn't a ghost." Hinata rest her hand lightly on Naruto's bag. The bag froze and Hinata jerked her hand away with a blush.

"Okay, I think that's enough excitement for the day. I'll take first watch. The rest of you get some sleep. We'll be in the village by tomorrow."

Kakashi sat down on a boulder overlooking the camp and surrounding forest. Satsuki pulled her bag over by the fire and settled in. Sakura pulled hers near the fire alongside Satsuki. A wolf howl sounded in the distance and the trees ruffled in a slight breeze. Across the fire, Naruto's bag shuffled a little closer to Hinata's.

"Good night everyone." Satsuki closed her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

The moment they entered the village Satsuki could feel that something wasn't right. The streets were empty and the houses looked abandoned. Satsuki looked over to where Hinata was, her Byakugan activated. Her brow creased.

"There are people here…" An old woman came out at Hinata's voice. She approached slowly before relaxing at the sight of their headbands and stalked up to them.

"Well, you took your time! Do you have any idea how stressful this is for a woman my age? It's exhausting!" She waved her hands through the air. Sakura and Satsuki shared a look.

"Sorry, m'ame. Could you tell us what has happened." The woman scoffed at Kakashi before sighing.

"It started about a month ago. One of the village children was out playing in the field by the forest. Her parents were nearby, of course, keeping an eye on her. They said she just disappeared. One second there, the next, not. We sent out search parties into the forest but before we could get too far the spirit appeared. We never actually saw it but we heard it. It told us to leave and never return, or else. The trees were bending in every direction and there were howls echoing all around us." The woman shivered.

Satsuki looked into the forest and noticed shadows flitting through it. She kept a suspicious eye on it while Naruto raved.

"See! It was a ghost! Why did you call us here? We're not exorcists!"

"N-Naruto-kun, please calm down." Hinata put her hand on his arm and he stopped shivering.

"How many children are missing now?" Sakura asked. The old woman looked down.

"Six. After the second child disappeared in the same field parents started avoiding it, but no matter where the children went they would disappear…."

Okay, this time she was sure of it. Something was in that forest. Satsuki walked a little ways away from the others in the direction of the forest. She activated her Sharingan. Her eyes could pick out the movements easier now. She took off into the forest.

"Satsuki! Where are you going?" She heard the others follow her.

The shadows in front of her stayed just out of sight and it infuriated her. She couldn't detect any chakra which was strange since the shadows were so fast. All of a sudden the trees thinned out and the ground stopped. Satsuki felt her stomach jump and she was in midair. The wind whipped her hair around and her eyes started to water from the air rushing into her face. Below, a dark chasm ripped the earth. She couldn't see a bottom.

"Satsuki!" She felt a body collide with her own. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. What was the point of them both falling to their death? She heard a bunch of mini explosions and she was suddenly jerked upwards. Satsuki looked up to see a rope of orange attached to her. _Great, now there's more of him.._

_._

"What were you thinking? Running off like that, you're lucky that we followed you. You could have died!" Satsuki sighed. The second she had touched solid ground Sakura had been having a fit.

"Sakura…"

"We wouldn't have even been able to find your body. Did you see how deep that chasm was?"

"Sakura."

"What would I have told Mamori-san? She probably would have killed me for letting you kill yourself!"

"Sakura!" She stopped waving her arms around and her emerald eyes jumped to Satsuki.

"I was never in any danger." Sakura started spluttering and gesturing to the chasm that was just a few feet behind the group. Satsuki grabbed her arms and held them at her sides. "Trust me, I would have been fine." She smiled and Sakura relaxed shaking her head in disbelief.

"Satsuki, why did you run off?" Kakashi approached the two girls. Satsuki looked into the forest but there were no signs of the shadows.

"I thought I saw something. I'm probably just spooked by all this talk of spirits." Kakashi looked off into the forest also.

"I doubt there's a spirit. But, it is strange that there has been no chakra associated with these events." Satsuki nodded and started walking back to the village.

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"Just look at you! You look like you were wrestling a boar in a mud bath."

"Thanks…" Satsuki muttered. When the group had gotten back to the village the old woman had shown them to the inn they would be staying at. The place was nice enough but the desk clerk was brutally honest.

"Come, come deary. There's a bath house in the back." The woman pushed her along the corridors into a room filled with steam, cubbies, and towels. She left Satsuki there standing awkwardly.

Truth be told, Satsuki had probably been to a bath house only two or three times in her life time. She preferred to be outside doing something than sitting around turning into a prune. The door behind her slid open and she heard a faint gasp. She turned around to see Sakura and Hinata standing in the doorway.

"H-Hello Satsuki-chan." Hinata shyly twiddled her fingers.

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Satsuki let out a sigh as she eased herself into the hot spring. Steam curled around her as the water gently seared her skin. She could feel all control of her muscles melt away. She ducked her head underwater and stayed there a little bit. She reveled in the feeling of floating, the way her hair spread around her weightless. Her head broke the surface and she lazily leaned against the wall.

"So, what do you think is really happening here?" Sakura asked. Hinata looked into the water and sighed.

"I-I don't know. I feel useless, not being able to detect chakra or anything." Satsuki nodded and looked around at the two girls.

"I have a feeling that the children are not as innocent as they seem." The other two looked at her, confused.

"Think about it. The chakra system in children is barely perceptible, especially if they are not trained to be a shinobi. This village wouldn't train them. Plus, no matter where the children are they disappear. There's no consistency with the abduction location besides this village." Sakura shook her head.

"There could easily be a rogue stalking the children. Like you said, this village doesn't have any shinobi to protect them or sense danger."

"Yes, but a rogue would have a chakra signature. Even a suppressed one can be seen by the Byakugan." Hinata nodded and looked thoughtful.

"So, you think the children are at fault." Satsuki nodded.

"Wait! What about the bending trees and howling?" Sakura crossed her arms.

"I don't know… The howling could just be the children, but the trees… That's what makes this mission weird. Besides, it wouldn't be as much fun without a mystery right?" Satsuki grinned mischievously which was quickly wiped off with a wave of water from the pink-haired woman.

"Hey!"

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Satsuki stared up at the ceiling from her futon. Everyone was already asleep. She couldn't stop picturing those shadows flitting just out of her reach. She huffed and rolled onto her side. Her eyes drooped shut and her mind became numb.

_The world was blue. There was no up or down, but the world was a dizzying blue. She jerked her body around. She could feel the wind rushing under her. So there was a down. _

_The down was a darker shade of blue than the up. Satsuki could make out little waves and realization hit her. That was the ocean. A thrill of excitement shot through her. She loved the ocean. _

_The water was still a ways down. How high was she? All of a sudden the water rose up to her. Satsuki brought her hands up to her chest._

"_KAI!" Her voice was ripped from her mouth but the affect took place. Satsuki felt a sharp pain in between her shoulder blades. The pain quickly melted however and warmth spread from the area. A ruffling sound was heard and she glimpsed white out of the corner of her eyes. _

_She felt a tug from her back, a brief shot of pain, before she was shot upwards and slightly to the side. The action had slowed her descent but Satsuki lost control. She could no longer see the white out of the corner of her eye. She plummeted into the water._

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Satsuki picked at her food and sighed. Hinata glanced at her with concern.

"I-Is something wrong Satsuki-chan?" Satsuki shook her head not glancing up from her food. Just then, Sakura burst into the room.

"Another child's disappeared!" Satsuki and Hinata rushed out of the inn into a street bustling with people. There were moans of despair and sobbing all around. Satsuki bypassed them all and followed Sakura to a playground on the edge of the forest.

"I-I told..him not to..to… go near the…" Satsuki barely glanced at the sobbing woman. She activated the Sharingan and jumped into the forest. There! A flicker of chakra jumped at her a little to the left and in the foliage. She jumped in that direction, Hinata right on her heels.

"Hinata do you see it?" Satsuki shouted.

"Yes, it's definitely a child, young boy about 8 years old. Satsuki, there's something strange with his chakra. It looks like it's connected to the ground." Silence fell between the two as they pursued the boy.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing? Your parents are probably worried sick about you! Go home!" Satsuki skidded to a stop in a clearing. In front of her Naruto and a young boy were facing each other.

The boy had dark green hair whipped in every direction. His eyes were a deep green that only darkened further at Naruto's words.

"You don't know what you're talking about! Leave us alone!" The boy's lips never moved but his voice echoed from all around the group.

"Naruto-kun! His chakra, it's connected to the trees!" Naruto looked over at her bewildered.

"What?" A tree branch crashed into the ground just inches from where Naruto was standing. The tree straightened itself out. Vines exploded from the ground and wrapped around Naruto's legs. The boy shouted and ripped his legs out. The vines easily snapped.

"Go away! Go away. Go away!" The boy stomped his foot and a tree shot up from the ground underneath Naruto. The branches caught him up and lifted him into the air. The tree bent backwards and then snapped forwards onto the ground, trying to crush Naruto.

"Naruto!" Sakura and Kakashi arrived at the scene. Kakashi jumped forward to snatch Naruto out of the tree before it contacted with the ground. Sakura leapt forward and slammed her fist into the ground.

"Okasho!" The earth shattered under their feet. Hinata and Satsuki jumped into a tree. The young boy stumbled on his feet before vines erupted from the ground and held him in the air. They wrapped around him and formed a sphere.

"Go away!" The boy's voice echoed around the clearing.

"Satsuki!" Satsuki looked around her and noticed the pairs of eyes that surrounded the clearing. Out of the bushes, children crawled. Their skin had a pale green tinge to it and their eyes were completely white. Satsuki shivered.

"What have you done to them, bastard!" Naruto shouted. He rushed the spear but a vine shot out and pinned him to the ruined earth.

"Hinata, if I can get you close enough do you think you can get rid of that shield?" Hinata nodded her head. Satsuki took in a deep breath and focused.

"Kai!" The sharp pain melted away and a flicker of white lingered in the corner of her eye. Her trench coat fluttered to the ground below. She heard a faint gasp from Hinata but ignored it. She activated her Sharingan and read the wind currents. She implanted her chakra and manipulated the wind to her control, lifting her wobbly off of the tree branch. She swooped down to the ground and gained speed before snatching Hinata off of her branch.

The girl in her arms shrieked and gripped at her hands. Satsuki soared into the air towards the spear. Vines shot out and she dodged. She did a barrel roll and blew past the sphere. She twisted in midair and looked down on the sphere.

"Ready?" She shouted over the wind. Hinata gave a nod. Her eyes determined and Byakugan activated. Satsuki let go. She flew ahead of Hinata and blocked the vines attacking them. She turned out of the way just as Hinata was within reach.

"Hakke Sanjuni Sho!" Hinata's hands were a blur as she pinpointed the chakra points in the sphere keeping it together. The sphere unraveled. Satsuki grabbed the boy and looked him in the eyes. He went unconscious upon looking into her Sharingan.

A blur of orange jumped past her and she glanced up to see Naruto catch Hinata. He cradled her in his arms as they landed. Satsuki gave a small smile as they looked into each other's eyes. Hinata quickly came back to earth from the blue of Naruto's eyes and blushed. He noticed he was still holding her when he felt her body tense up against his. A light red dusted his cheeks as he quickly let go of her and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. Satsuki rolled her eyes.

She landed and her wings shrank back into her body, a black ink tattoo of wings replacing them on her shoulder blades. She dumped the kid on the ground and went looking for her trench coat.

"Can't you be gentler with him?" Satsuki rolled her eyes and glanced at the med-nin.

"He kidnapped and enslaved a bunch of children. He attacked us. I think he can take it. He's not just some little brat." Sakura rolled her eyes and placed a glowing green hand on the boy's forehead. Satsuki looked around the clearing and saw that the children from before had all collapsed.

"It looks like he was controlling them with these." Kakashi held up a bunch of purple jagged-edged leaves. "We'll have the medics in Konoha analyze them when we get back. Naruto, get these kids back to the village. Sakura, I want you to give them a check-up in case these had poison on them or something." Sakura nodded and picked up the boy.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto's clones picked up the children and the group headed to the village.


	6. Chapter 6

Satsuki looked through the glass at the boy from the village of their mission. They had gotten back to Konoha this morning and Kakashi had immediately disappeared to the Hokage's office with the boy telling the rest of them to go ahead and rest. Satsuki excused herself from the group to track down Kakashi.

"What should we do with him? His control over the flora stems from a bloodline. However, he is highly unstable emotionally." Tsunade sighed and crossed her fingers in front of her mouth. Her eyes narrowed at the boy who was glaring down at the ground in cuffs.

"We'll take him to the Interrogation Unit. Have them search his mind for what may have caused this incident and his background. I'll decide what to do with him afterwards." Satsuki took in a sharp intake of breath from her perch outside the window. Kakashi's head immediately snapped in her direction.

"Satsuki? Get in here." His voice was shocked. Satsuki sighed and slumped into the room. The young boy didn't glance up as she went to kneel in front of him. She grabbed his chin and forced his eyes to meet hers.

"You're nothing but a brat, aren't you?" His dark eyes widened before narrowing as a growl escaped his lips. Tsunade's eyes followed the exchange.

"Satsuki, go with Kakashi to the Interrogation Unit. You'll be giving me the report." Satsuki straightened up and turned to the woman.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Throughout the mind interrogation the boy's face had been neutral. Satsuki activated her Sharingan. She caught a slight twitch of the lip.

"There! Which memory is that?" Yamanaka-san took in a deep breath before removing his hand from the boy's head.

"His parents kicking him out." Satsuki looked at the boy's face. He was currently unconscious, the strain of reliving his memories too much for his young mind. Satsuki scribbled something on her clipboard before giving Yamanaka-san permission to begin again. She watched his face closely with her Sharingan. Every now and then there would be a twitch of the eye or lip, a slight crease of the brow.

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"Overall, his parent's feared his kekkai genkai. It's a rarity even in the clan. The trauma of kicking him out at such a young age though was too much. He began craving attention and companions, hence the kidnapping of the children. He doesn't trust adults, though. I think we should incorporate him into the Academy."

"Why would I do that? He is a danger to the villagers. He should be sent to the asylum until deemed stable and then assimilated into the village as a civilian. Any increase of his power could potentially harm his classmates and himself." Satsuki clenched her hands.

"If you put him in a room alone he'll freak out. That's what led to this disaster, him being taken away from people. He needs to be with kids his own age. Not only will the Academy have that it will also have adults. Not too many to overload his tolerance but enough to get him readjusted. His powers are dangerous without control. Currently, his emotions control them and with his emotional instability it's dangerous." Tsunade looked through the files found on the boy, Kenji.

"I can't put him in the Academy as he is now…. But I agree with you that he shouldn't be alone." She paused for a moment. Her eyes brightened as a thought entered her mind. "I will place him in the care of Tazuna. He's a bridge-builder who Konoha has had dealings with in the past and has recently moved here. He has a grandson about his age."

Satsuki let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

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"S-Satsuki-chan!" She turned to see Hinata jog up to her.

"Hey Hinata! What's up?" She looked away slightly.

"Follow me." She tugged at my wrist before running off. Satsuki stumbled after her, confused.

"H-Hey! Where are we going?" Hinata didn't answer. They soon came to a training ground. Hinata stopped in the middle of it, her back facing Satsuki. Satsuki stopped a little ways behind her.

"Hinata?" The girl whirled around, kunai flying from her outstretch hands. Satsuki dodged to the right but Hinata was there to greet her.

"Hakke Kusho!"Satsuki flew back and slammed into a tree. Hinata flashed in front of her while she was still catching her breath.

"Hakke Sanjuni Sho!" Hinata's hands were like lightning but Satsuki was able to dodge all of her hits, blow for blow. She barreled into Hinata and used her weight to pin her down.

"What are you doing? I thought we were friends!" Hinata looked into Satsuki's eyes.

"Uchiha."

Satsuki flinched back and jumped off of the girl.

"W-What?" Hinata got up from the ground and dusted herself off.

"If we're friends then why did you keep it a secret? You're an Uchiha." Satsuki deactivated her Sharingan which had automatically activated when Hinata began her Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms technique.

"I-I wasn't keeping it from you." Satsuki looked to the ground. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up in surprise.

"Satsuki, we're your friends. We'd protect you from anything. Even from our own." Satsuki looked away.

"It's not that simple. I'm not just an Uchiha. I'm Uchiha Fugaku's daughter." Satsuki looked into Hinata's eyes knowing the Hyuga heiress would understand what it meant.

"But, Fugaku was the clan head. He only had two sons…" Hinata gasped.

"Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke." Satsuki nodded.

"Why would you try to hide it from them? Satsuki, Sasuke holds family close to him. Why do you think he went to Orochimaru in the first place?"

"I know! It's just… They're so different. I'm different. We don't know each other. We're strangers!"

"You're family. You need to tell them." Satsuki gave a bark of laughter.

"You're the third person to tell me that." Satsuki sighed.

"Satsuki, you shouldn't keep secrets from your friends. We can help you."

"I know." Satsuki smiled. A loud grumbling came in between the two girls and Satsuki blushed. "Let's go get some ramen. I need to go pick up that brat soon but I am starving!" Hinata laughed.

"You should be an Uzumaki." Satsuki joined her laughter.

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"So, you're back." Satsuki looked up from unpacking her things. A sense of déjà vu overwhelmed her for a moment before she brushed it off. She smirked at her friend.

"No, I am a hallucination. Your mind misses me so much that it is forced to project illusions that I am here. In reality, I am probably on a beach somewhere sipping on a margarita."

Mamori rolled her eyes and knocked Satsuki upside the head. "Baka, you're only fifteen."

A knock sounded on the door. Satsuki went to answer it.

"Who is-" Her sing song voice cut off as she choked on her spit in surprise. Mamori came up behind her and thumped her back hard as she tried to stop coughing.

"Ah, good-afternoon Itachi-san. Where is Sasuke-san?" The man's black eyes bore into Mamori's, a faint smile graced his face.

"Naruto-san and his friends kidnapped him." Mamori chuckled and pulled back, inviting him in. She kicked Satsuki out of the way.

Satsuki sat frozen on the floor. Did she just see the Uchiha Itachi smile? Did Mamori-nee-chan just laugh? What was this world coming to?... Satsuki shot up in revelation and pointed an accusing finger at the two who were conversing with each other. Their bodies were closer than what normal conversation preferred.

"You two are dating?" Mamori and Itachi looked up in shock at Satsuki. Mamori got over it first and growled. She stalked over to Satsuki and hit her in the head.

"Ow…" Satsuki whined as she rubbed the top of her head.

"Idiot! What crazy thoughts are going through your head?" Satsuki glared up at her but noticed that the young woman was blushing slightly. She looked over to Itachi who had an amused gleam in his eye. Her face brightened up as she gave a shout of laughter. Mamori crossed her arms and glared down at the young girl.

"Ah, my old friend, the flower of young love has bloomed for you! The youthful bond between two people with the flower is strong with you two." Mamori sighed and brought a hand to her forehead.

"Satsuki, stay away from Lee and Gai for a little while. I do not want to live with a crazy idiot." Itachi chuckled and put an arm around the woman's waist. A sound of protest burst from her mouth.

"You could always move in with me." Itachi brought his mouth to the side of her head and kissed her hair. Satsuki fainted at the sight.

"What are you doing?" Mamori glared up at the young man from his embrace. He smirked and gestured to the fainted girl on the floor.

"Just pleasing the masses." Mamori sighed.

"You're cruel. Not only do I have to wake her, she now thinks we're dating." She pulled herself out of his arms. A slight frown marred Itachi's face and a crinkle formed on his brow as she walked away from him towards the kitchen. He followed after her.

"And what's wrong with that?" Mamori scoffed as she pulled a cup out of the cupboard and headed to the sink.

"We're not dating. It is mean and a lie to tell her that we are." Itachi scowled at the word 'mean'. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and nestled his chin on her shoulder. She tensed up in his arms.

"We can pretend it's not a lie though." Mamori whirled around and accidentally brushed her lips against his. She covered her mouth with a hand as she blushed heavily. She glared at him.

"W-What are you talking about Itachi?" Her voice was muffled behind her hand. He pulled her hand away from her mouth. His eyes looked down at her intently before closing as he leaned into her. She looked up nervously at his serene face. Warmth spread through her at the sight. She leaned upwards and closed her eyes.

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Satsuki picked herself up from the ground and groaned. Her head pounding, she walked into the living room and shrieked at the sight of her best friend and brother making out on the couch.

"Get a room!" Satsuki ran to her room and slammed the door close.

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**Hey guys! I was just wondering what you guys think of my story. I think it might be a little bland. It's hard to fill in the gaps. It's a lot better in my head. I'm having trouble getting Itachi and Sasuke's personalities down. I think I failed…. Tell me what y'all think and any suggestions you might have, please!**

**Hakke Kusho – Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm**

**Hakke Sanjuni Sho – Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms**


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